When the DP published its article in Tuesday's print edition about Pat Knapp's heralded women's hoops recruiting class, Knapp had snagged four confirmed recruits, and a fifth was trying to get in through the regular decision process. For that reason, Knapp didn't release the fifth name.

Now, we might have it.

Lauren Dandrea, of Our Lady of Mercy Academy in South Jersey, is the latest to be swayed by Knapp's recruiting pitch. The Gloucester County Times quoted her coach, Steve Wescott: "To have someone going to Penn, the publicity can only help us."

Apparently, at least one person thinks it's a done deal. Stay tuned to The Buzz and the DP for updates on Dandrea.

No it's not over. You never know about injuries, and you never know if this team is going to struggle in the second half like last year's did.

But after the men's basketball team blew by Cornell and Columbia this weekend, I wouldn't make plans for March 15 and 16 that don't involve the eight first-round sites.

For those (including me) who thought the primary competition would be Columbia, we were treated to a little reality check Saturday night. For those who thought it would be Princeton, the loss to Columbia and the manhandling at the hands of Cornell says otherwise. But more on the Tigers in a minute.

Now it looks like Penn's primary competition will be itself. Avoid the letdown games, stay healthy, and we'll see you in one of the eight first-round sites. Hopefully not Spokane.

The stat of the weekend comes from Princeton, where Saturday night, Meagan Cowher scored 35 points for the women's team against Cornell a day after dropping 31 on Columbia.

What's significant about Cowher's 35? It's the same number of points the Tigers men scored as a team that night.

Joe Scott's crew made just 14 field goals on 30 percent shooting, and if you take out Zach Finley's 6-for-8 game, the Tigers shot just 21 percent from the field.

Makes Columbia's 27 percent against the Quakers look good.

Penn's two wins were just about the only ones in Philly this weekend. It was a brutal Saturday for the Big 5 and little brother Drexel.

The Dragons, who showed such promise in the non-conference season, dropped to 4-2 in the Colonial with an 84-57 pummeling at the hands of Old Dominion. Drexel is now fourth in a league that almost certainly won't see more than three bids.

Penn's next three opponents did no better. La Salle dropped a two-point game at Dayton. Temple couldn't hold its halftime lead and fell to a UMass team whose frontcourt overwhelmed the undersized Owls. And St. Joe's lost its first Atlantic 14 game, falling to exceptionally mediocre Rhode Island at home. To complete the 1-5 day for the City 6, Villanova lost to Syracuse at the Dome.

And just for good measure, the Eagles, Flyers and Sixers decided to play along, all losing on Saturday.

Thank God for Penn, or else it might have been a bad day in Philly.

Glen Miller's sometimes-brilliant-most-times-shaky Quakers have staked an early claim to supremacy in the Ivy League, and they had plenty of help doing it.

Penn did what it had to, beating a talented group of youngsters in Ithaca and thumping the preseason No. 3 at Levien Gymnasium.

With the second win, Penn prevented Columbia -- who everyone, including yours truly, was high on -- from taking the driver's seat in the title race.

And by the time that game was settled, Princeton was doomed to an 0-2 start in the league after losses to Columbia and then Cornell. They don't even come close to controlling their own destiny after that weekend.

Even upstart Dartmouth fell to Harvard after winning the night before and lost its status as the 'hot' team in the Ivies.

Penn should certainly be happy after this weekend. There are still chances for failure, but as of now the Quakers hold the hammer. Almost as importantly, the teams that had the chance to wrest it from them all missed out.

For the women's side, Penn notched its first Ivy win convincingly over the Lions.

For the first time this year, the Quakers did something remarkable -- scored. It took 21 points in 24 minutes off the bench from Ashley Gray, but the 80-point total was the highest in Pat Knapp's tenure with the team. Perhaps a sign of good things to come from a bench that has struggled to contribute.

While the men's team gritted out a win down in Elon (see previous post), the Penn women are playing with history on their side at the Palestra.

Princeton swept the Quakers last year, but those two wins broke a five-game losing streak for the Tigers. Tonight the odds are on Penn to give a much better game than either of last year's.

FINAL: Princeton 78, Penn 72

Penn went into foul mode and couldn't score. A gutty game from the Red and Blue; they kept it close on a night when nothing was going right. But losing a winnable game never feels good.

36.1: Princeton 74, Penn 68

No, no, no! Carrie Beimer fouls Ali Prichard, one of the Tigers' best scorers, at the top of the key. She extends the lead by one.

45.6: Princeton 73, Penn 68

Penn got within four, but after Downs and Rhoads traded threes the Quakers look tired. Another shot clock violation and a silly foul on senior bench player Elyse Umeda, who made one from the line. Can't do that with under a minute and a half left.

Knapp uses his last time out, and his Quakers need some stops and points.

5:10: Princeton 67, Penn 62

Gem of the night from the Penn Band: an "E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!" chant as Cowher attempted a free throw (she missed). As if on command, the Quakers respond with two quick baskets.

6:56: Princeton 65, Penn 57

Scott did hit a three seconds after I posted. Sports are funny like that.

Either way, the Quakers are still having a tough time moving the ball against the Tigers' tough defense. Shot clock violation on Penn. Another timeout.

8:00: Princeton 65, Penn 54

Scott has made some really bad rookie mistakes tonight. She just airballed a wide-open layup after a perfect backdoor cut. Pears has produced consistently, but the Penn frontcourt has not.

The Quakers have been leaving a lot of points on the floor, and Princeton is well out in front again. Timeout Penn, eight minutes to go, and the lead is back into double digits.

11:52: Princeton 56, Penn 46

Penn has been playing in the half court more often lately, and the results were favorable. A Kelly Scott three from the wing, and we have a ten-point game.

15:59: Princeton 53, Penn 39

Princeton is 1-8 this year when being outrebounded, and you can see why. Extra possessions against the Tigers have been deadly for Penn. Princeton is hot from three -- especially Whitney Downs, who had eight in the first half -- and the gap is widening.

Halftime stats

Here's the Quakers' season right here: at halftime, Rhoads and Naltner have 11 and 10 points each. Rest of team? 14.

But who cares about that right now? The important thing is that Bill Cowher, the recently departed Steelers coach, is enjoying the game from right behind press row. His daugher is a senior for Princeton.

Overall, Princeton is shooting 46% in the first half -- to the Quakers 48% -- but has taken six more shots. The Tigers also made good use of the three ball in the first, taking 13 and making six. Not so hot for the Quakers.

Halftime: Princeton 42, Penn 35

Pears finished a fast-break layup, but otherwise the Quakers lost ground in the closing minutes of the half.

2:28: Princeton 38, Penn 33

Nice little run by Penn. Caitlin Slover finishes a left-handed putback, the Tiger's can't score in transition, and we have timeout on the floor.

5:07: Princeton 33, Penn 26

Kim Franklin came off the bench to nail an open three in transition, and all of a sudden the Quakers have new life. Joey Rhoads hit a layup, and Maggie Burgess drew a foul and just went one-and-one from the line.

7:44: Princeton 33, Penn 21

Princeton coach Richard Barron whined to the closest official about Maggie Burgess, Penn's imposing forward. Not three seconds into the next play the sophomore was whistled.

Still, I'll take physical play any time. A good sign out of Knapp's often-underperforming youngsters.

This game, on the other hand, has not been so promising. Both teams are struggling to score close to the basket and work players open deep. Not a fun game to watch.

11:38: Princeton 33, Penn 21

Lauren Pears is starting to show up. She showed some real strength driving right into the pain on three straight possession. One resulted in a layup, one a pass to a wide-open Naltner, and one an assist to Rhoads.

Good basketball.

11:38: Princeton 27, Penn 15

Pat Knapp is getting a workout. He's been storming up and down the sidelines telling his players to stick the opposition, but to little avail. Princeton may be a big team, but they have no trouble getting open off the dribble.

14:19: Princeton 19, Penn 9

Princeton has the look and feel of the team that shared the title in 2006. They push the fast break extremely well and rarely miss an open three. Princeton's forward trio of Meagan Cowher, Casey Lockwood, and Whitney Dodds has kept Penn from scoring near the basket and pulled down some big offensive boards. They also move the ball very, very well.

For the Quakers, it's the same old story. Monica Naltner and Joey Rhoads are doing their best to keep the team in the game. And they just might do that.

And congratulations to Rhoads. The senior just scored her 1,000th career point at the line.

The band hit a nerve with me on Saturday during the Fordham game, and not for the first time. As PA announcer Rich Kahn began reading off the Ivy League scoreboard, the band launched into song. None of the student section heard the scores, because the band was too busy playing.

I'll admit that's a little nitpicky, but my real pet peeve is when the band plays "Fight On" and stimulates a good "Let's Go Quakers" chant, only to subsequently squelch it by playing the second verse. Which is more important, generating crowd enthusiasm or making sure that the song is finished? If this conflict means the band only plays the first verse, so be it. The crowds for these reading-day/winter break games will be small enough without the band stifling them.

On the women's side, coach Pat Knapp's substitution rotations were again surprising. Yesterday against American, Knapp played Anca Popovici for the first three minutes of the game...then yanked her out and sat her on the bench for the remainder of the 61-51 loss.

Popovici and Maggie Burgess seem to be the frequent victims of this policy. Against Lafayette, both started: Popovici had 8 minutes and Burgess 14. Against Delaware, it was 16 for Popovici and 11 for Burgess. Admittedly, foul trouble sometimes hastens the process, but either way it doesn't take much for Knapp to go to Kelly Scott and Caitlin Slover.

Knapp is the most animated coach I've ever seen, and he provided another gem for the fans sitting on the Penn side today. After a careless turnover, he grabbed two cups, at least one of which was filled with water. He then proceeded to slowly and dramatically crumple the cups before dropping them onto the sideline.

It probably wasn't very funny for assistant coach Jennifer Wasson, though -- she was the one who got stuck cleaning up the mess after Knapp emphatically stormed away from the scene.

Football team's loss to Yale got you down? It seemed quickly forgotten for one night during an exciting night of Penn basketball.

The men's and women's teams each held their annual Red and Blue (read: White and Blue) scrimmages. Then with a few minutes remaining in the men's game, the announcement was made of the formation of "The Line" for students to buy men's season tickets.

Here are some notes and thoughts from an eventful night.

Men's scrimmage:

White (Zoller, Danley, Grandieri, Cohen, Franklin, Schreiber and Smith) defeated Blue (Jaaber, McMahon, Lewis, Votel, Egee, Gill and Reilly) 60-46. At the time of the line announcement, Mark Zoller led White with 15 and Ibrahim Jaaber led blue with 18.

Jaaber's Blue team fell just hours after I was told by coach Glen Miller that his team never loses in scrimmages.

In what could be a preview of things to come, 12 of the 14 players (by my unofficial count) attempted at least one three-pointer during the scrimmage, including Zoller and fellow big men Brennan Votel, Steve Danley and Andreas Schreiber. Miller said that shooting has been a point of emphasis and especially Danley has greatly improved his outside stroke.

Freshman looked good. Didn't seem to have a problem with the speed of the game. Darren Smith made a couple of questionable decisions, including going up against two big men underneath only to have his layup stuffed. But at other times he looked like a vet, and he drained a pair of threes.

Jaaber, playing for a team which was severely overmatched in the front court, kept his team in the game the best he could with several fast break layups and two threes. He's also sporting a large tattoo near his left shoulder. From my seat, it appeared to be an angel, but I can't be sure.

Women's scrimmage:

The women decided to do it a little differently, going with first team against second team. The Blue team, featuring the top eight, routed the benchers 42-16, led by Monica Naltner's 15 points.

Naltner looked fantastic, playing for the first time in who-knows-how-long without a knee brace. Her shots were on and she was taking the ball to the hole without any hesitation.

Speaking of shots going down, Carrie Biemer was on fire for the starters, nailing four three-pointers for her only 12 points of the day.

Freshman Caitlin Slover out of Archbishop Wood High School earned a spot in the top eight, and she was joined by captians Joey Rhoads, Lauren Pears and Naltner, Maggie Burgess, Kelly Scott, Anca Popovici and Biemer.

The Line:

One year after Strikes, The Line came to the other end of campus at World Cafe Live. For the second straight year, kudos to the athletic department for an excellent choice of line location. Also, way to take advantage of a sponsorship deal to create a great event.

Taking a taxi to the secret location? Cheating or resourceful? Haven't decided yet.

PRINCETON, N.J. -- It's nothing new for Penn and Princeton to be meeting at Jadwin Gym at the end of the basketball season with the Ivy League title in the balance. This year, though, it's the women's game that will affect the championship race, not the men's game. If Princeton beats Penn and Dartmouth beats Harvard, there will be a three-way tie atop the Ancient Eight standings for the first time ever.

As it stands, Brown is currently alone in first place at 12-2. If either the Big Green or Tigers win but not both, the winning team would face the Bears in a playoff on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Yale. If both teams win, there would be a coin flip to decide who would get a bye to the final. The first game would take place Friday at 7 p.m. and the second game would take place Sunday at 2 p.m.; both would also be played at Yale.

There have been six two-way ties in the 31-year history of Ivy League women's basketball, with the most recent coming last year between Dartmouth and Harvard. Penn has never been involved in a first-place tie, but it has forced another team into one. In the final game of the 1998-99 season, the Quakers beat Princeton at Jadwin, 73-65, forcing the Tigers into a playoff against Dartmouth. The Big Green won that game and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

The circumstances are different this year, because Princeton has to win to have any shot at the post-season. I'm sure Penn would like nothing more, though, than to salvage a bit of pride from this disappointing season by denying its arch-rivals a shot at the Big Dance.

Will it happen? Princeton is definitely the better team. But as I write this post, the Tigers are only up by a point, 21-20, with 5:46 remaining in the first half.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: It's halftime, and while Penn was able to keep it close for much of the first 20 minutes, Princeton has pulled out to a 35-29 lead at the break. Penn had a chance at a last-second shot, but center Jen Fleischer airballed a hook shot. The Quakers are clearly giving it everything they have; the only question is whether they can keep up that intensity through the second half.

FINAL: Princeton wins, 67-55. Penn fought pretty valiantly, but a four-minute dry spell in the second half allowed the Tigers to put the game out of reach. Joey Rhoads led all scorers with a heroic 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Meagan Cowher was Princeton's leading scorer with 20 points, and her father, Bill -- also known as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- was there to witness the effort. Senior center Becky Brown scored 16 points, making her the Ivy League's leading scorer for the season. Jessica Berry and Katy O'Brien also recorded double digits in scoring for the Tigers.

I'll have a longer recap on our main site soon.

For a team on a 10-game losing streak, it was an awfully ominous start.

Nine seconds into the Penn women's basketball game against Rider, the Broncs' Danielle Constantino knocked down a three-pointer.

But the Quakers would score the next 14 en route to the blowout victory and a much-needed respite from the losing skid.

While Rider was clearly an inferior opponent, as any small team that can't shoot would be, it was a needed win. And as much as Patrick Knapp wants to criticize the team's defensive effort after the game, it was a needed win.

It was a needed win for a team that had simply forgotten how to win. In the previous 10 games, the losses had come in all shapes and sizes.

There was the never-had-a-chance loss in the 78-34 game at Delaware. There was the heartbreaking loss in overtime to American, the slow-starting losses in Seattle and the slow-finishing loss in the Ivy opener against Princeton.

And while the game was nothing to be proud of, the Quakers remembered how to win just in time for the first Ivy weekend.

Some thoughts from the women's game

For a freshman, Kelly Scott has shown an impressive bit of confidence since joining the starting lineup in place of the injured Lauren Pears. She stepped up and hit a couple of big shots today including a three-pointer in the opening run. Knapp, who was very reluctant to play freshmen last year, has shown just as much confidence in his freshman guard. Makes Scott's prep year at Blair Academy look more than worthwhile.

The best moment of the Rider game was seeing senior Henley Hansen score her first points of the season. Hansen, who has been among the last players off the bench during her four years in the program, scored her 17th and 18th career points as she caught the ball on the left baseline and drained a 14-footer like she'd done it hundreds of times before.